QuakeIndex

Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Big Pine, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Big Pine in the 24 hours to 8:00 am PST (16:00 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (6 mi) NNE, at 10:07 am PST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Big Pine

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) east of Big Pine, CA, at 10:36 am PDT on 9 October 2026 (17:36 UTC), 10 km deep. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.

USGS: 49 km E of Big Pine, California

10:36 am PDT, Oct 9, 2026 · · 10 km deep · released about 8.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Esmeralda County 60 kmInyo County 81 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
10:36 am PDT on 9 October 2026 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) east of Big Pine, CA · earthquakes near Big Pine
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Esmeralda County, 60 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Fish Lake Valley fault, 11 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 34 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Big Pine, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.8 on 2022-01-06 — about 50,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 46km E of Big Pine, California · 9 km SSW of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 37.2417, -117.7399. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Esmeralda County, NV 60 km (38 mi) N earthquakes near Esmeralda County
Inyo County, CA 81 km (50 mi) SSE earthquakes near Inyo County
Mono County, CA 125 km (78 mi) NW earthquakes near Mono County
Nye County, NV 139 km (86 mi) NE earthquakes near Nye County
Tulare County, CA 146 km (91 mi) SW earthquakes near Tulare County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

9 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 51 km NE of Keeler, California
  2. 1.6 9 km NNE of Big Pine, CA
  3. 1.5 31 km ESE of Big Pine, California
  4. 1.9 50 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  5. 1.5 26 km S of Dyer, Nevada
  6. 1.5 48 km SSE of Silver Peak, Nevada
  7. 1.5 52 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada
  8. 2.2 6 km S of Deep Springs, CA
  9. 1.9 54 km S of Silver Peak, Nevada

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.